During the past 12 years, we’ve only spent one winter in a northern climate. But since we were living onboard our RV the entire winter season, there was no need to put our systems into winter storage mode.

We’ll be staying North again this winter, but will be away from the RV for about two months while traveling by air. Rather than leaving the heat on, we’re winterizing our plumbing to prevent pipes from bursting while we’re gone.

There are two methods for winterizing an RV:

pump pipes full of antifreeze (the RV type that’s safe for potable water systems)

or use compressed air to blow the water out

Rather than fill our drinking water system with any chemical – even a non-toxic one – we prefer to blow the lines out.

While it’s common to use a typical air compressor for the job, an air compressor unit with a tank can blow oil or other debris into our fresh water lines.

Instead, we use a tankless compressor with an air filter which protects our drinking water system from contamination.

There are a lot of steps to follow, especially if you have additional options like an ice maker, washing machine or dishwasher.

We have all three, so we covered that and much more in our video below.